Teaching a Future President

I think we all have this burning passion to inspire students to be the best version of themselves; we want our students to grow up and make a difference in the world. What if your students do just that? What if one day say you got to say you were the President of the United State's ninth grade English teacher? Would you look back and wish you taught that student differently?

According to Zachary, we should teach all students as if they were going to the be the next President of the United States. Why? Because no matter what career a student pursues, they all need to have the same fundamental skills.

Preparing students for the "almost impossible"

Seven Rungs on Ladder to Success

• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Collaboration across networks and leading by influence
• Agility and adaptability
• Initiative and entrepreneurship
• Effective oral and written communication
• Assessing and analyzing information
• Curiosity and imagination

To sum it up...
We, as educators, need to provide students with opportunities to work in authentic capacities where they can develop skills that will help them as they embark on the challenges that they will face in their schooling, their career and all other aspects of their lives. We cannot allow ourselves to isolate our content from relevant skills that students should be developing.

My reaction to the list of skills

My favorite skill- Initiative and entrepreneurship


This is the idea that students need to learn to take control of the situations around them and that students should be aware that taking control often means taking risks. I like this idea because I think it challenges the way that most educational systems in the U.S. operate. We have this ideal in the U.S. that forces us to focus only on being correct, and as such, enforces the idea that mistakes are bad.

Why include "effective oral and written communication" in the list?
When I first read this section I thought, "no duh," but the more I thought about this skill the more I realized this is a skill we do not emphasize enough in school. The key term here is "effective." Just because our students can speak and write does not mean they can do either of these EFFECTIVELY.

Teaching "effective" communication


So, I got to thinking, "How can I help my students learn to communicate effectively?" One of the easiest ways is to allow them to do more of the talking in my class. I should never tell them something they can tell me. If they have an idea, let them say it. Ideas will likely be vague and misunderstood by others at first, but as the year progresses, so will their ability to communicate. Practice makes perfect, as they say, so let's let them practice.

Curiosity and Imagination???

I think the way education has been constructed eliminates so much curiosity and imagination because teachers feel the pressure of covering all the material and/or the fear of our students not understanding our content. This is hindering our students' ability to think for themselves, though. We need to create a place where curiosity and imagination are not only praised, but expected.

How?

• Stop students from just working for the grade- the goal should be to UNDERSTAND
• Foster creativity in your class
• Give options for students
• Keep guidelines/ expectations for assignments vague
• Connect material to other disciplines, the real world, and other relevant sources

Remember- You're not just teaching the future President, you're teaching the future of this Country! Let's teach all of our students the skills they need to run a successful country.